Every month Craigslist (not just the online personals section) gets more than 20 billion page views from over 50 million users in the United States alone. This results in 40 million classified ads being posted every month, according to DatingSitesReviews.com Every once in a while, one stands out and becomes the stuff of legend. The “Holiday Boyfriend” ad posted in the Men Seeking Women section a few weeks ago is one of those posts.

Recognizing that the holidays can sometimes be depressing, especially for single people, a 28 year-old San Francisco man decided to propose a mutually beneficial solution and look for a girlfriend online for the holidays (and only for the holidays) and stated his intentions:

Let me be clear. I want a girlfriend. But, I don’t really want a girlfriend.

I just want one for the holidays.

The idea being that he’d have someone to celebrate/commiserate the holidays with, curl up together during those cold San Francisco Winter nights, and attend friends’ coupley holiday parties so they don’t keep thinking you’re a loser destined for permanent solo status. Right up until 11:59PM, January 2nd, 2012, after which you can still be friends if you want to and downshift to the occasional drunken booty call. (So obviously there’s an expectation for sex to be part of the equation.)

Almost immediately the post generated a lot of interest, media attention, controversy, and eventually, according to the poster, hundreds of responses. On one hand, it’s an intriguing idea. If you can find someone interested in this sort of arrangement, who you get along with, have great (or at least some) sex with, and clear expectations set upfront so there are no hurt feelings, why not?

Meanwhile, the post also generated its share of haters (spawned in part perhaps from some negative press from SFGate.com and SFWeekly for example) describing it as chauvinistic, crass, tasteless, and a laughably pathetic gimmick to get laid. Craigslist eventually suspended the ad due to the number of complaints it received. It is probably all of those things, but does it really matter? In the end, it makes for some fun and unusual reading and I think people are perhaps taking it way too seriously.

He’s not the only one doing this sort of thing either. It’s spawned a few copycats and there are women out there doing the exact same thing. (More about that later.) So I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily sexist. Here’s the original ad post below so you can judge for yourself.

WANTED: Holiday Girlfriend – 28 (mission district)

Let me be clear. I want a girlfriend. But, I don’t really want a girlfriend.

I just want one for the holidays.

Let’s recognize something. The holidays suck, especially for us single people. All of your coupled friends are going to be doing couple things: snuggling by the fire, going to dinner at each others’ parents houses, blahblahbarf.

Let’s recognize another thing. Deep down inside, you don’t want to be alone for the holidays. You want someone to do all of those cute snuggly things with, someone to get fat and keep warm next to (let’s also recognize that it’s getting fucking cold here), and someone to accompany you to your friends’ coupley holiday parties so they don’t keep thinking you’re a loser destined for permanent solo status.

But, you’ve spent all year working on your career / training for charity bike rides / getting drunk and haven’t had the time or inclination to track down and capture a boyfriend. And even if you did, you’re not really sure you’d want to keep him after the holidays are over, anyway.

The solution:
Be my girlfriend for the holidays. And only for the holidays.

How it works:
You reply with a picture and a brief bio (250 words max. To give you an idea, this posting is 499). If it seems like a good fit we’ll set up a casual mini-date (coffee, beer, or whatever). If that’s a success and we’re both feeling it, we’ll date until 11:59PM, January 2nd, 2012. After that we can still be friends (unless we hate each other, then we can downshift to the occasional drunken booty call).

The benefits:

You have someone to keep you company on these witch-tit-cold San Francisco nights. Did I mention I’m an excellent cuddler? (I have references.)

I like to cook. Especially for others. Nothing too fancy, but always tasty and satisfying. As long as you’re an omnivore, you win.

Having done it professionally for some years to pay for school, I know my way around a bar. Same goes for wine cellars and beer coolers. Homemade winter warmers? Done.

Hate holiday music? Me too. Seeing as every other establishment or event you step into will be playing it, I’ll spare you the excess.

Worried about finding someone to kiss on New Year’s Eve who doesn’t look (or sound) like Sloth’s cousin? Boom! Got you covered.

About Me:
28 years old, small business owner, active (cyclist, surfer, snowboarder), outgoing, easy on the eyes.
Not About You (aka Dealbreakers or, Don’t Bother if You Exhibit the Following):
Heavy drug use, laziness, prudishness, still in love with old boy or girlfriend from years past (or if you secretly are, at least have the damn decency to not blab on about it).

Interested? Then send your pic and bio and get this ball rolling.

I’d love to know how all of this eventually plays out, and whether or not he found his partner in crime for the holidays, what happened with the predetermined break-up, and if he managed to secure the drunken booty calls he was hoping for. I suspect that even if he is successful in his quest, there will be some hurt feeling in the end if sex is indeed involved. And if he’s not successful… there’s always next year.

We all might find out together. He’s not going away any time soon. Here’s his follow-up post on Craigslist. He’s also on Twitter as @HolidayBF and he’s created The Holiday Girlfriend Chronicles website to share the highlights with you as the story progresses.

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WANTED: Holiday Girlfriend – THE RETURN – 28 (mission district)

Date: 2011-11-30, 5:27PM PST
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Dear SFGate Trolls,

Thanks for flagging my post for removal. You are truly worthless, bitter people.

For those of you who wanted to follow the story, check out HolidayBF on Twitter.

Flag that, fools!

To the rest of you, thanks for the love and interest, and glad my little Craigslist ad could brighten your day!